The 1st Annual Pokemon Hunger Games
by Tempus King
Summary: Revolutionary technology has now allowed Mutts to be controlled by voice command. This category of Mutt has been deemed as a Pokemon and will be inserted into the next Hunger Games. These 24 tributes, or trainers, will be given time to catch Pokemon, before they must fight to the death alongside them. (SYOT OPEN: 11/24)
1. The Meeting

**President Astoria Cassis**

**Year 112 Post Dark Days**

Ever since Astoria had been a little girl, she had always despised the Hunger Games. She had always wondered why her parents prevented her from watching the barbaric competition, but now she was older, she understood why. All the blood, screams and torture made her feel sick. Nobody seemed to acknowledge the fact that the tributes were actual humans, with feelings, families, fears and a life back home. Everybody turned a blind eye to the fact that they were kidnapping children and sending them to their death. It infuriated her that everybody seemed to lack a working moral compass. Whenever she thought about the games, it made her fists clench and her eyebrows furrow. She hated them.

Astoria had tried her best to convince the city that the Hunger Games were inhumane and needed to be cancelled. But anytime she held rallies, or had public speeches, or released propaganda, she faced threats. Threats to her family, threats to her friends, threats to her position and threats to her own life. She had already barely survived an assassination attempt.

Astoria tapped her fingers on her mahogany desk. Her turquoise fingernails made a quiet tapping noise. Unlike a majority of the Capitol, she dressed up like an actual human being with no outlandish make up. She had silky long blonde hair, which was tied in a bun. She had crystal clear blue eyes, almond shaped eyes and small lips which looked very red from lipstick. She looked rather unremarkable. She would just blend into a crowd if you tried to look for her. Well, she would if the capitol Citizens actually dressed up like sane people.

Astoria looked at the small clock in the corner of her office. It was 9:37. He was already late. Astoria made a small tutting noise, disappointed at his guest's tardiness and lateness. She felt herself getting more and more annoyed, as she tapped her fingers at a quicker pace.

"S-s-sorry!" A voice shouted from outside of the door. A rather messy looking man slammed the oak doors open and quickly rushed to the small black velvet chair on the other side of the desk.

"Faust, what sort of time do you call this? You were 17 minutes late." Astoria sighed, as she inspected her disorganised friend. Faust's sandy hair looked rumpled, as if he had not spent any time catering to it. His black tuxedo suit was hastily chucked on, looking creased and somewhat old. His trousers certainly had a lot of holes in them.

"I w-was just, preparing the presentation, m'lady." Faust said, trying to lighten the mood a bit. Astoria gave him a stare which pierced daggers through him. Faust gulped, before looking down at the folders he had slammed down on the desk. "Sorry, sorry. Won't call you that again. I guess you want to see my amazing creations, right?"

Astoria let out a sigh. This awkward man was really meant to be her childhood best friend and the greatest geneticist in all of the Capitol. She was certainly a lot nicer when she was younger. Now, she felt herself snap more easily whenever he was around. He was very grating, after all. "Of course. I assume it won't be safe to release it in my personal office, right?"

Faust nodded. He had been patting down his hair, so it ididn't stick up so much. "Of course not! I wouldn't do anything to put you in dainger, m'la- wait, no, ma'am." Astoria sent him a deadly glare once again, which Faust pretended to ignore. "You'll be perfectly safe! But your office won't, so we'll have to go to outside. If it does act up though, I can always…"

Faust threw up the small ball in his hand. It fell down and landed in his hands. "Withdraw them back into the Pokeball!" Faust sighed in relief, glad he didn't drop it.

Astoria grabbed the Pokeball out of his hand and inspected it at many different angles. It was lighter than she expected it to be, but very smooth and easy to hold. It looked rather plain, being a magnificent shade of red on top and an empty shade of white on bottom. "It's rather simple looking…"

"But that's the charm of it, right?" Faust tried to let out a cheeky wink, though his face looked as if he was in pain. Faust untucked his chair, stood up and smiled. "We're not going to do much here. You have a garden, right? Obviously, you do. I'm sure you have lots of acres…"

Astoria sighed. "Faust...just be quiet." She stood up as well and started walking out of the office.

* * *

Astoria's garden was easily her favourite part of the mansion. It was her pride and talent, she absolutely loved it. She had so many good memories of tending to the garden with her family when she was younger. Her family did not spend much time together, as they always had more important things to do and places to be. Astoria was always an afterthought. She sighed, kicking a leaf as she walked by it. Always an afterthought, she repeated.

The garden was filled with many different exuberant, exotic strangely coloured flowers, dotted around the mainly green garden. There were trees of every type, some had autumnal leaves, some towered over the pair, some had strange fruit growing and some were pastelled colours. It looked like something out of a fantasy novel.

Avox gardeners rushed about, tending to the garden. They wore strange masks, to protect their faces from some of the poisonous or venomous plants. Two burly looking Avox security guards stood next to Astoria, protecting her from any harm.

Faust ran up to her, stumbling over his feet. His shoelaces were untied. Astoria groaned, but decided not to mention it to him.

Faust handed her a Pokeball again. She felt it once more, gripping on the strange ball. "Just press the white button on the middle of it. And aim it near one of the plants that isn't poisonous, preferably. Yeah, that would be the best."

Astoria nodded, looking at the button. With a silent prayer that nothing would go wrong, she quickly jabbed at it. A red light flashed, temporarily blinding her. She rubbed her eyes. When she opened them, a strange looking creature stood right in front of her. A creature that looked like an orange weasel appeared, though it was bipedal. It looked as if it had a flotation ring around its neck. It also had blue flippers on its arm.

"Well...that's an interesting creature, what is it?" Astoria turned to Faust, who had a toothy grin on his face. He looked so proud of his work.

"Well, that thing is a Buizel." Faust said. As he said this, Buizel gave a little salute. It was sitting on its hind legs, staring intently at Astoria.

"D-did it just salute?"

Faust nodded. "Well, it is a very smart creature. Or should I say, Pokemon."

Astoria gazed at it, somewhat nervous yet somewhat curious. Buizel layed down on the grass, starting to lick it fur. Did weasels normally do that? "So..it's friendly. It won't attack me?"

"No Pokemon will ever attack a human, unless commanded to. And that's only if they have a strong emotional bond to their trainer. Pokemon are very smart creatures and can use a plethora of moves and abilities. You, a trainer, can simply command them to use one of these moves." Faust explained, as if he had learned it off by heart, word for word.

"So...I can command it to do things...what can I command Buizel to do?" Astoria asked, becoming more and more curious as she found out more. She hated not knowing things. It made her feel so idiotic. She needed to know as much as possible.

"Press the light blue button below the white one, which is smaller." Faust said to her. Astoria looked down at the Pokeball and pressed it. A cyan flash of light burst out. Words began to form, before coherent sentences could be seen.

"It's hard to read in the daylight…" Astoria shielded her eyes from the light. "Moves: Water Gun, Sonic Boom, Swift and Aqua Jet…"

"They're all attacking moves. Normally they have some status conflicting moves and stat lowering/increasing moves. But we programmed it with those moves for the demonstration. Why don't you tell it to use a move?"

Astoria looked at the Buizel. "W-Water Gun."

"You'll need to say it's name, love."

"I figured that out." Astoria bit back, annoyed at the cocky geneticist. "B-Buizel, please use Water Gun."

Buizel nodded, before turning to a bush of blackberries. It cried out its name, before spewing out a liquid in a projectile move. The liquid was not so surprisingly water. The bush received a nice dose of water, before Buizel stopped.

"H-how can it do that?" Astoria walked over to the bush, bent down and caressed a leaf. It was definitely water.

"I can give a long scientific explanation...or I could show you some more cool things Buizel can do." Faust said, not wanting to explain the detailed specifics. He was more excited to show his work off.

Astoria was unsure. While she knew the itch to learn would distract her, she wanted to see some of the other moves. "I want to see what Buizel can do…"

Faust nodded. Astoria shouted, "Buizel, use sonic boom...please."

Faust let out a yelp. "No! Don't use that here! You need to aim it somewhere! Preferably an empty space!"

It was too late, Buizel had started to twirl it's tail around at an astonishingly fast speed. Buizel jumped around, releasing a burst of energy and wind. The blast flew through the air, before slicing a pine tree's bark. The tree slowly fell. Buizel let out a screech, before scurrying away on all four legs. Astoria panicked, letting out a yelp. Luckily, the Avox Guards were right there to help. They ran in, picked her up and carried her out of harm's way. The tree fell with a deafening noise, clattering against the floor.

Astoria blushed, ashamed of her idiotic move. While no one was in the tree's path, it could have seriously hurt somebody. But there was no point dwelling over a mistake or crying over spilt milk. She couldn't have known, could she?

"Astoria! Please think of what the moves might do before you use them. They can be deadly if misused."

Astoria looked down in shame. Then she remembered the sonic boom that Buizel produced and felt amazed. "I'm sorry...I should have asked before I used the move. But...but...that was amazing! How can such a small creature use such a powerful move."

Faust let out a chuckle. "Well, we may have maxed out it's stats and IVs…"

"It's what?"

"Never mind, I'll explain later. But I've got something cooler to show you." Faust smiled, before grabbing another Pokeball. He pressed the white button, releasing another Pokemon. This time, it was a very small dog. It was a light beige colour, with white fur around its neck and a few pebbles dotted about its fur. It had large ears. The playful dog bounced about, jumping around Astoria's feet, wagging its tail and barking playfully. Astoria let out a 'aww', finding the small dog cute.

"This is Rockruff...rather cute, isn't he?" Faust said, as he bent down and stroked him. "Why don't we have a battle?"

"A what now?"

"Well...you have Buizel, I have Rockruff. It's only natural that we have a battle, as that's what Pokémon are meant to do." Faust told her.

Astoria nodded. "So we just...use the moves? Like, water gun and sonic boom?"

"Yeah. The four moves that your Pokemon has."

"Who goes first?"

"Whoever is quicker." Faust smiled. "Rockruff! Use rock tomb!" He quickly shouted, shocking Astoria. That was dirty, she thought.

Rockruff barked. The pebbles on his fur suddenly shot out into the sky, before falling down onto the garden. Astoria panicked, unsure what to do! "Err...Buizel run! Dodge! I don't want you to get hurt!" She cried out.

Buizel saluted, before scurrying away, into a bush. Faust sighed. "Astoria, you have to attack back."

"Do I? Can Buizel not just hide?"

"No, because the fight would never end if Buizel just hid."

Astoria sighed. "But I don't want to hurt Rockruff. Or Buizel."

"Astoria...they want to fight. It's in their nature to fight. They're eager. Can't you read them and see how excited they are? Aren't you meant to be intelligent?"

Astoria looked down to Rockruff, who barked once more at a bird that was flying about. It's tail was wagging faster than ever. Buizel still had that serious expression, but he looked ready to fight. He had a battle stance, he was ducking slightly. Buizel was covered in fruit juice now, from the bush. They did look ready to fight...

"Well...Buizel! Use Sonic Boom!" Astoria shouted out. Buizel quickly released a burst of energy, which hit Rockruff. The rock dog did not flinch, it still had a smiley face.

"What? It wasn't even affected."

Faust smiled. "Of course it didn't. It only does 20HP, which is only a quarter of it's health. If I were you, I'd use one of your water type moves. Water is strong against rock."

"Water? Rock? Types?"

Faust groaned once more. "I keep forgetting that you don't know anything about Pokemon. Every Pokemon has a type. Some have one, some have two. Rockruff is a rock type, while Buizel is a water type. Every type is strong and weak to other types. Rockruff is weak to Buizel. There are 18 types."

That was a lot of information to take in at once. Astoria nodded, somewhat understanding what he said. It kind of made sense actually.

"Well...Aqua Jet, Buizel!" Astoria shouted. Buizel charged, summoning water around his body. Soon, Buizel was completely submerged and swimming through the air. Buizel lunged at Rockruff...who quickly leapt out of the way. Buizel ended up watering a few bushes and flowers, before hitting a tree.

"Disappointing." Astoria simply noted. Buizel looked very dizzy. Rockruff bounded over.

Faust decided to end the fight. "Rock tomb, Rockruff." A few pebbles flew out again, pounding Buizel. Buizel's eyes turned into a swirly pattern. It was pretty obvious that Buizel could not fight anymore.

Astoria cursed out loud. She hated losing, she had to win all the time. Some may have called her insufferable, but she can't change the way she is. "That was actually really entertaining...we should probably get Buizel checked up on."

Faust walked over to her. "Just press the white button twice." Astoria nodded, pressing it twice. Buizel quickly flew into the Pokeball, the red light submerging him. All of a sudden, Buizel was let out again. He stood up again, no longer fainted. He was healthy once more, with no visible injuries.

"Is there some sort of healing device inside the Pokeball?" Astoria asked, curiously. She had completely forgotten her anger, instead perplexed again.

"Sort of. The Pokeball is like a charger, it recharges the Pokemon and gives them energy again. It's like a home for them." Faust reassured her. Astoria nodded, glad that the Pokemon would not be hurt.

Astoria smiled. "I think we've spent enough time here. I'd like to go back to the office." She said, as she sent Buizel back to the ball.

* * *

Astoria and Faust were now sitting back in her small little office. Astoria held the two Pokeballs in her hand, admiring them. Faust nervously smiled as Astoria twirled them around. "So...do you like the mutts?"

"The Pokemon? They're amazing. It's incredible what you've done. The fact they can respond to human command and use these strange elemental powers...it's so astounding." Astoria let out a genuine wide smile, as she placed them down.

"So...I assume you want me to insert them into the next Hunger Games?"

Astoria groaned, thinking about those Games that she hated again. "Well..Faust, I have a secret I need to tell you. You must promise me that you will not tell anyone what I'm about to say."

Faust nodded, showing the same toothy awkward smile. He layed back in his chair, stretching his feet. "I promise I won't."

"Good, because if you did, I'll turn you into an Avox, before executing you." Astoria said, trying to sound sweeter than normal. She showed a wide smile to help hammer in the message. Faust let out a small shudder, before reverting back to his old smile. "I plan to abolish the Hunger Games."

"W-what? Abolish? But...but you can't do that. The reaction would be so negative and overwhelming. You'd be assassinated. Or overthrown. The Capitol would hate you! Plus...I'd lose my job. So would so many others. And the Capitol won't have entertainment…"

Astoria let Faust waffle on. She tuned out what he was saying, instead focusing on the quiet noise that was made when she tapped on the Pokeball. No matter what he said, she wouldn't change her mind. "I don't want to completely remove them. I want to keep the Games, but remove the death."

Faust opened his mouth, his jaw gaping down. "So...so...what do you want? What's your plan?"

"I want to replace the fighting in the Hunger Games with those...Pokemon. Instead of the tributes fighting, they can fight with their Pokemon. The loser can be removed from the games, they don't have to die. But there'll be the same entertainment and action and whatever else those idiots want." Astoria said, a lot of emotions in her voice. It's clear that she truly cared about abolishing the games. Faust nodded along, understanding where she was coming from.

"But what about all the mutt deaths? And the natural deaths? And the accidental deaths?" Faust rapidly fired questions back.

"They can easily be avoided. We can program the mutts to avoid the tributes and focus on the Pokemon. We can sponsor tributes supplies if the tribute is running low. We can...do something about the accidental deaths. I don't know what, but there's a way, I promise you." Astoria said back.

"Ok. I understand. So...will the next games feature Pokemon? And there'll be no deaths."

"They'll feature Pokemon…but there will still be deaths. We need to smoothly transition into a deathless game. We need to introduce the Pokemon first. And if the Capitol like it, we can continue it." Astoria said to him.

"And what if they don't like it?"

Astoria stopped tapping the Pokeball. "Well...there'll be another solution. But for now let's not focus on that. I want you to mass produce Pokemon. Come up with as many types as you can and as many of them as you can."

"But...that'll take a lot of time. And money. And I'll need a bigger team." Faust gulped, scared of the prospect of that much work.

"I can give you whatever you need. I'll give you endless bounties of money. I'll give you hundreds of workers. And if it's still not done by the next games, I'll wait. I'll wait however long it takes." Astoria continued, sounding more and more confident as she spoke. Her plans of abolishing the games could suddenly becoming reality.

"Ok, roger that, ma'am." Faust gave her a silly salute. Astoria let out a small giggle. It was more like a strange cackle.

"Before you go...how many Pokemon have you created so far?"

"Well, we've created 112 so far, are close to finishing 60 more and we are working on about 300 others. We also have plans for about 500 more once we've finished, but I doubt the games will have that many."

Astoria gasped, shocked by the large amount. "So...over 900?"

"Yes, of course."

"That's… a lot." Astoria said. She didn't expect 900, but the more the better, she guessed. She felt giddy with excitement. She hadn't been this excited in a long time. The games might be abolished and replaced with a better version. She'd be able to bond and train more Pokemon. Everything might become better.

* * *

**Welcome to The 1st Annual Pokemon Hunger Games! Despite being the 1st, they are not set directly after the Dark Days, but after the 111th Hunger Games. So there are still Careers, the nation isn't recovering from war and so on. This is set in a universe where Katniss and Peeta didn't win, but Clove did. So there will be no mention of them or the second rebellion.**

**You may be wondering how Pokémon will affect this story. In Panem, people do not own Pokemon. However, when the two tributes are reaped, they will receive a random Pokemon in the Reaping. You'll be able to request this Pokemon, but I will be making the final decision. **

**After the Reaping, they'll be given a day to capture a Pokemon in a 'Dome', which is just like the Safari Zone. After that, the games will continue as normal. There will be chariot rides where they present themselves and their Pokemon. They'll receive 7 days to train and get used to their Pokemon. Then there'll be private sessions, interviews and the games.**

**In the games, they won't do any actual physical fighting. They'll only fight with their Pokemon. Whoever defeats their opponents will win and be able to live, while the loser's tracker will be blown up. There will be Pokemon in the arena, items from the games in the Cornucopia and the arena will be Pokemon based. **

**That's it for now. I have some rules for submitting tributes:**

**Please do not submit Mary Sues/Gary Stus. Tributes need to have flaws. **

**Please be creative when submitting. Also, I'm not submitting tributes from other stories, unless the story is dead, inactive or cancelled.**

**This is a first come, first serve story. You can reserve a tribute for a week, before I take the reservation away.**

**Pokemon wise, you'll need to give me 10 Pokemon you want your tribute to have. Because I want creativity, I'm limiting so only 2 of those 10 Pokemon can be starters. Legendaries or mythicals aren't allowed either. Also, I'm going to try and make it so each tribute will have unique Pokemon. So please tell me why your tribute deserves to have that Pokemon.**

**I'm only accepting tributes through PM. I'm sorry to any guests.**

**Finally, the maximum amount of tributes I'll accept from one person is 3, though that may change.**

**The form will be on my profile.**


	2. The Transmission

**Marcellus Hargreaves**

**Anti-District Protestor**

Marcellus was very annoyed. Recently, he always seemed to be in a state of perpetual annoyance. Sometimes, he wondered if his emotions were too strong. Was it healthy to feel such strong hatred towards other humans? Well, he wondered if those District scum were even humans. They were more like...creatures. Creatures depraved of sympathy, empathy and emotion.

But was President Astoria Cassis a creature as well? He remembered actively campaigning for her election years ago. He felt ashamed that he ever supported someone like her. He felt his insides revolt whenever he saw the woman. So when she was appearing on the holo-screen in front of him standing behind a pedestal, looking smug and overconfident, he felt disgusted. What a vile woman.

"I can't be the only one who despises that egotistical smile she wears." Ophelia murmured. She tutted and shook her head disapprovingly. She was trying to be quiet, but Ophelia was not a naturally quiet person. She loved to voice her opinion to anyone who would listen.

Marcellus never thought he'd be sitting next to one of the most famous, most beautiful Victors from 1, watching the national transmission from the President together. She was one of the best looking woman Marcellus had met. With beautiful crystal clear blue eyes, luscious silky black hair which went down to her shoulders, a constant charmful smile on her face and pale porcelain skin. Marcellus felt ugly compared to her, with his big hands, long arms and legs, messy brown hair and large facial features.

Ophelia and Marcellus met years ago because they shared the same opinions and views on the way the country was run. Ophelia hated the lower District villeins even more than Marcellus did. Sometimes, it was a bit off putting.

Marcellus did not like her, but he needed to use her to push his beliefs out. People would listen to a Victor from 1. They wouldn't listen to a mere market worker from the Capitol.

A loud knock could be heard on the old decaying door to the motel room. Ophelia looked at Marcellus, who just shrugged. He stood up and peered out of the window. Nobody…"It must have been wind." Marcellus shrugged, as he sat back down on the sofa. The sofa was too hard and it smelled very strange. Plus, there were a lot of holes. Moths must have been chewing at the fabric.

"Of course this hellhole of a motel still has knockers on the door." Ophelia whined in her high pitched voice. "Could you have picked a worse place to watch this transmission? This room reminds me of the places I had to begrudgingly stay in 12, on my victory tour. I'd expect better from the Capitol."

Marcellus rolled his eyes. "This is the best place I could have picked. Nobody's watching some archaic run down motel. If you were seen at my house, we would have been swarmed by adoring fans, or reporters, or spies from Astoria herself. You know you're on her personal watch list."

Ophelia made a small 'tch' noise. "I'm still not happy about staying here."

"Well boo hoo." Marcellus said back to her. He actually found the motel kind of cosy. It reminded him of the rooms he used to stay in when he and his brother were homeless, all those years ago. It brought back good memories of his brother...before he...passed.

"Just be quiet. She's about to start speaking any moment." Ophelia said, with venom in her voice.

Silence followed for a few moments. Astoria still had that smug smile on her face. All of a sudden, the stage she was standing on turned dark. You could barely make out her figure. Spotlights turned on, shining on Astoria and making her squint. Hopefully, one would fall on her, Marcellus thought.

"My fellow Capitolites…" Astoria started to shout out, the microphone amplifying her voice.

"We are nothing like you." Ophelia practically spat at her. Why she felt the need to speak to the television, Marcellus had no idea.

He groaned out loud. "Just be quiet, we're going to miss what she's saying. You sound petty anyway."

Ophelia once again, rolled her eyes. Marcellus tuned back into what she was saying. Great, they missed what she had just said. "-wondering what I'm doing upon this stage today!"

It probably wasn't important.

"Well, I have news to bring upon you. I know many of you will not like it what I'm about to say, but I ask of you to listen to my words before you react." Astoria shouted once more, trying to look as sweet and friendly as possible.

Murmurs in the audience followed. What could she be on about? She was most likely trying to appease to those District scum, like she always did. President Cassis had never cared about the Capitol.

"The 112th Hunger Games...will not be taking place next year." Astoria announced. Everything went silent. The audience were no longer speaking. Ophelia took in a deep breath. It was strange. The sound of silence was disturbing and eerie even, but it was...appreciated.

Out of nowhere, a loud shout could be heard: "Get off the stage!" A deep voice rumbled out in the audience. The audience suddenly erupted into chaotic noise. People shouted, jeered, booed in anger and shock. Cries could be heard. People were shouting for Astoria to lose her job, to bring back the Hunger Games, some even shouted for her to be executed.

Did people really like the Hunger Games that much? Marcellus had never been that interested in them. He didn't care about the television side of it, though he loved how the Districts were being punished.

Astoria did not speak, instead soaking in all of the abuse. Marcellus had to admit that she was a brave woman. Perhaps even strong or courageous. It must have taken a lot of willpower to get on that stage and announce such news to the nation.

Ophelia cursed out loud. That was very unladylike of her. Before he knew it, she had started to give him a momentous speech. "What an ugly hag! How could she get rid of something so culturally important and necessary to the country?" Ophelia carried on, but Marcellus ignored her, relegating her to background noise. Instead, he stared at Astoria. She still had that smug smile on her face-

She was up to something. There was a hidden trick up her sleeve. Something they couldn't have been expecting…

All of a sudden, roaring fire appeared from above the stage, blasting devilish sizzling heat into the audience. Piercing screams could be heard. What was this mad woman trying to do? Kill the audience? He didn't doubt that she'd kill them. She hated the Capitol and they hated her back.

The fire stayed in the air for moments. The chandeliers and ceiling had merely been tickled by the scorching inferno. They must be fireproof. More people began to scream.

All of a sudden, squawks could be heard. A rush of flapping wings came flying in. "Birds." Marcellus noted, though it was somewhat obvious. Ophelia was no longer complaining in the background, she was now staring intently at the screen.

"Mutts. Probably filthy ones." Ophelia murmured.

But these were no ordinary birds. He had never seen birds like them before...there were so many different birds of different colours and types. One was a sandy brown and yellow colour, with a majestic red plume. One was a jet black blur. One looked like a parrot...no...a toucan, with a red, yellow...orange even beak. There must have been at least seven different types.

But there wasn't just birds. Many of the birds were carrying...aquatic creatures? A turtle squirrel hybrid, a strange angry fish with yellow spikes on it, a rather weak looking pond fish, a starfish. They were all shooting out water, putting the fire out, soaking the audience. Some let out oohs, while many just looked annoyed. Marcellus understood their frustration. What sort of game was she trying to play?

Once more, something else flew out. A red dragon? A flying red dragon...like the creatures that would appear in his brother's mystical exaggerated tales. Oh...how he longed to hear one of his brother's stories. If only those District creatures didn't mercilessly kill his brother…

Marcellus blinked. He would not be distracted. "W-what is that thing?" Ophelia spat out once more, amazed at the creature appearing on their screen. It was a fire dragon. It's tail was on fire. It had sharp claws and teeth. It looked as if it could easily pierce a weak frail human body. They looked dangerous but beautiful. Some of the audience members screamed in terror and panic.

The dragon did not attack. The birds flew around the creature. They sent bursts of wind and air to hit the dragon. Some clawed at the dragon, some pecked at it. The aquatic creatures sent bursts of water at it. The dragon roared back, breathing fire and...this odd dark green flame. It clawed at the birds who got too close, whacking some of them with its tail.

Marcellus looked down at the audience, who looked amazed at the spectacle occurring in front of them. Ah...there was a Forcefield separating the fight and audience. It must be separating the ceiling as well. A shimmering light could be briefly seen every few seconds. Nobody would be injured.

But what was going on? What were these mutts? How did they relate to the news of the Hunger Games being cancelled?

Very few birds were left. Most had been knocked out into the Forcefield and were lying on top of it. Shouldn't they have been electrocuted? Perhaps it's a different type of Forcefield. With another burst of fire, all the birds had been knocked out, leaving the dragon victorious.

Once again, silence followed. One person clapped...then another person joined in...then the entire crowd boomed into applause, cheers and screams of joy could be heard. Astoria smiled, joining in with the clapping.

Once the clapping had stopped, Astoria shouted out: "Thank you my amazing Pokémon, for that beautiful performance you just showed us…"

Pokemon? What on earth is a Pokemon? They just looked like complex mutts to Marcellus. "That was...stunning…" Ophelia clapped her hands, tears forming in her eyes. It seemed like an act. Ophelia was known for her above average acting skills. Though why she'd need to act now was beyond Marcellus. "It seems like that useless woman is good for one thing. Being a mutt trainer. Ha, that's just pathetic."

"Will you just shut up? I don't need to hear your constant comments on her. I don't care. I get it, you don't like her. You're giving me a fucking headache." Marcellus shouted, not wanting to hear her whiny voice anymore. While he agreed with her, he at least had some common decency to not attack her any moment he could.

Ophelia murmured something rude under her breath. Marcellus managed to catch her calling him some very rude insults. The word were right on his tongue, but he decided not to repeat them, as he couldn't be bothered to deal with her incessant nagging.

"If you could not tell, these Pokemon are a very special type of mutts. They've been especially created to battle each other. They can be controlled by voice command. The trainer tells them what to do in battle and the Pokemon listen." Astoria began to tell the audience, who were deathly silent.

"Interesting." Marcellus noted.

"They seem to be dangerous. I would not have one of those filthy mutts approach me." Ophelia turned her nose up. What a snob.

Astoria began to speak again, standing closer to her microphone. "Pokemon are your friends. You can capture them, bond with them and train them. There are over 800 different Pokemon to tame and battle with."

800? That's a lot of time, effort and money wasted on what seems like a novelty. What idiots. But Marcellus was somewhat interested in seeing what these Pokemon were.

"Toucannon! Pidgeot! Swellow! Altaria!" Astoria cried out. What strange names. These Pokemon that were called, flew down from the Forcefield. The Swellow landed on Astoria's hand, while the Altaria landed on her head. The Toucannon and Pidgeot hovered around her, flapping their wings majestically. They were beautiful.

All of a sudden, they transformed into red light. The light shimmered, before disappearing. Where did they go? Many gasped out loud, scared. "No need to worry. The Pokemon have gone back to their home, the Pokeball. They are safe and unharmed." A wave of relief struck the audience. So they could be locked into a prison like home? Marcellus wondered if it could work on other animals, or humans. Probably not. These Pokemon were odd creatures.

"Charizard." Astoria's voice trembled. The fire dragon flew at Astoria. Was it about to crash into her? Hopefully it did. Sweat appeared above her eyebrows. Her arms were trembling furiously. At the last second, the Charizard turned into red light, before disappearing. He supposed it was cool, but disappointing.

"Onto the Hunger Games now...a new brand of Hunger Games will be taking place, with Pokemon instead of weapons. It'll work exactly like the Hunger Games, except the tributes will receive Pokemon at the Reaping. They'll have to battle it out with them. The loser of the battle will be killed." Astoria shouted out, to the cheers of the crowd. They seem captivated by the elegant creatures. To some extent, Marcellus was captivated as well.

"Good. I think she'd be assassinated if she cancelled the Hunger Games. Though I suppose that wouldn't be too bad." Ophelia said, her nose twitching.

Marcellus decided to ignore her again. "The tributes will be given time to capture Pokemon, before bonding with them in the training stage of the Games. Once they enter the games...the Pokemon shall be released out of their Poke Balls. There they shall fight it out...to the death!" Astoria roared out, with emotion and passion in her voice. The audience seemed very curious. They looked excited even.

"Panem, the Reapings shall be taking place in 1 week's time! 24 hopeful tributes will be entering that arena in 3 week's time. Celebrations shall start tonight and will not end until the Pokemon Games are over!" She took in a deep breath. "Panem Today...Panem Tomorrow...Panem Forever!" Astoria ended, to an eruption of claps and cheers. The holo-screen abruptly turned off, bathing the dingy room in darkness once more.

Marcellus turned to Ophelia, who was looking to the floor. Or so he assumed. It was too dark to tell really.

"What?" Ophelia shrieked at him.

"Well...what are your opinions on all of this?" Marcellus asked.

Ophelia did not reply for a few seconds. "It seems...interesting, but unnecessary. The nerve of that woman to cancel the ordinary Hunger Games...it's insulting. The power has gone to her feeble mind."

"Mmh." Marcellus replied, unsure on how he felt himself. Why would she do this? It didn't help the District scum in anyway. It seemed pointless. There must be ulterior motives. She must have a plan of some sort. "Fair point...it is unnecessary. Why would she implement these new games?"

Ophelia shrugged. "She can't be trusted. She's probably doing it to give the Districts some short power trip. To make them feel better because they can control some brainless mutts."

Marcellus looked down. "They probably won't even be able to control them. We all know how idiotic the tributes can be, as well."

Ophelia laughed. An awful laugh which didn't convey happiness. It sounded like she was mocking whoever would listen. "Yes. My tributes from 1 tend to be the most moronic shallow people you will ever meet."

Marcellus laughed as well. Awkward silence arrived. "What are your plans in the game, Ophelia?"

"What do you mean?"

"How do you plan to help the SVA-RAP?"

"I'm sure I can make my 1 tributes spew some propaganda to help the cause of our..ahem...alliance." Ophelia noted. "And I can always have a bit of a snoop around and find out some more valuable information."

"Information to help up assassinate President Cassis?"

"What else? I'd rather bring that woman down as quickly as we can." Ophelia told him. "Once the Snows rule Panem again, we'll be in another golden age of prosperity and wealth. It'll be amazing. It's a shame I was never alive to see the first golden age myself."

Marcellus nodded. He wondered what it was like when the golden age was happening. Marcellus would have probably had a lot nicer life. His family would still be alive. He'd be lazing about without a care in the world, gorging on all the luxuries he could ever desire.

"Our mission will be carried out soon. Before we know it, we'll be at the top of the food chain. We'll be ruling Panem." Marcellus smiled.

"Panem today-" Ophelia started.

"Panem tomorrow-" Marcellus continued.

"Panem forever-" They finished it off, both speaking at the same time, mocking President Cassis. They let out a laugh, a laugh that didn't seem to end. Their plans of assasinating the President may be coming to fruition soon.

* * *

Here it is, the second Prologue! Here we meet one of our main non-tribute antagonists, Marcellus Hargreaves. Who is this mystery man? I'm sure we'll find out more about him in the future. We also meet our female mentor from 1, Ophelia.

What is the mystery SVA-RAP. Who else is in it? Why are they trying to assassinate Astoria Cassis? Who knows?

So far, we've received 4 submissions, but we have 9 spots reserved! Hopefully I'll be seeing some more wonderful submissions soon. Thanks for reading and submitting if you already have! Bye!


	3. The Panic

**Faust Heverly**

**Head Gamemaker and Creator of the 'Pokemon'**

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Why wasn't it working? Maybe he should take deeper breaths. 'Slow and deep', was what his doctors would tell him. But why was it so hard to breathe? He felt as if every breath might be his last one. Why was such an easy thing to do so hard now?

Faust lifted up his shaky hands and wiped the sweat dripping from his forehead. It was disgusting, but he couldn't stop it. It streamed out, like a waterfall. He could hardly think straight. The feeling of pure terror and panic already plagued his mind. The sweat was not helping in the slightest, either.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. He could feel his heart missing beats. His heart was skipping, but not in love, but pure panic. His heart boomed against his chest, rattling against his sternum, begging for release.

He tried to call out, but his breathlessness made it harder to shout. "V-Verona…" He called out, to no avail. He sunk further into his armchair, feeling as if he should cry or scream. Tears brimmed at his eyes, some dripping down his sweaty face. Where was she?

"Faust? Did you call?" His faithful work partner, Verona, called out.

"Y-yes. Bring the medication...please…" Faust cried out, wanting it all to end.

Silence followed. Faust tried not to cry. His stomach felt so sick and his fingers were tingling horribly. Everything felt so bleak and hopeless. He was panicking more and more as the second went on. Where was that woman? What was taking her so long? He careened his head to the door of his office. He had flopped himself down on the armchair, but now he felt as if he couldn't get back up. The grand oak doors remained shut. Faust would do anything to hear that creaky noise he had despised before.

All of a sudden, a loud slam interrupted the silence. Faust blinked, to see Verona scurrying over with a mild look of panic in her face. The sight of her relaxed him. The way she flicked her long dark purple hair away from her eyes, the way her small nose twitched when she panicked, the way her purple crinoline dress twirled when she ran...it made him feel so fuzzy inside. She was so elegant.

Verona held a needle in her arm, with a clear liquid substance inside. Verona frowned at the sight of Faust, making a slight tutting noise, before piercing the needle in his right arm.

Immediately, Faust started to feel...better. His heart slowed down to the normal rate. He wasn't dripping sweat anymore. All his fears and worries had suddenly just disappeared. Faust picked himself up again, before standing up.

"Hey, miss me?" Faust chuckled.

Verona looked as if she wanted to punch him. She glared at him with pure venom. "Not even a thanks." She muttered under her breath, as she wandered over to the bin.

"What do you want me to do? Sing a song? Get down on my knees and beg for your love and forgiveness?" Faust mocked her. He knew he probably should be thanking her, but annoying her was so much more fun.

"You already do that anyway." Verona said, as she rummaged through her bag. She pulled out an empty box of medication. "Just a 'thanks' would be nice."

"Well, thank you, my dear." Faust mocked her, putting on a posh accent that mocked Verona's. It was quite an accurate impression.

Verona glared once more. "I sound nothing like that!"

"Whatever you believe, sunshine." Faust winked.

Verona threw the needle into the bin. She then made a loud scoff, before dumping the empty packaging as well. "You shouldn't taken those drugs, you know. They aren't healthy." Faust also scoffed. Verona said that to him every time he saw her. Every time he responded with the exact same thing: "Well, the doctors prescribed me with them. They wouldn't give them to me if they were hurting me."

Verona rolled her eyes. "That's what they want you to believe. It would be so easy for them to pour some sort of...venom in there and kill you. How can we trust them?"

"They're Astoria's doctors." Faust emphasised.

"I know that. Well done on pointing out the obvious." Verona said, clearly sounding annoyed. She sat down on the armchair next to the one he had previously been sitting on. "Why does it matter if their Astoria's doctors? She hates the games, so she probably hates you."

Faust was already growing bored of her wild conspiracy theories. "She doesn't hate me. We're sort of...friends? I guess. I don't know. Maybe we're more like co-workers." Faust shrugged.

"Exactly! You're coworkers! You're so...expendable!" Verona blubbered on, trying to prove a point.

"And so are you."

Verona punched him lightly. "Yeah, but I'm not given drugs every day that I know nothing about. I know I'm expendable as well, but I can't be that bad. They didn't make me deputy head Gamemaker for no reason."

"And that didn't make me head Gamemaker for nothing either."

"You know the only reason you were appointed the Head was because you showed Astoria the Pokemon." Verona spat at him, her voice suddenly becoming a lot more venomous. "You don't deserve the role. It should have been Corinthus, who created the voice responding technology, or Leila, who designed a majority of the Pokemon, or even me, who designed and created the Pokeball! What did you do, Faust? What did you do?" Verona unleashed at him, unleashing months of jealousy and anger on him. Faust seemed rather unaffected. He really did not care about what she thought about him.

"Well, for one, I used my charming personality to convince Astoria to use the Pokemon. She would've shut you down straight away if you tried to pitch them." To try and not sound so serious, Faust gave a little chuckle, which seemed to make Verona even angrier.

"That is not true. I am a very articulated and composed person. I would have been able to persuade her easily. And I also would have showed up to the meeting on time, unlike you." Verona said to him. She had pulled out the Pokeball from her pocket and she was lightly tossing it up into the air. Hopefully, she didn't throw it somewhere and smash it.

Faust didn't want to answer. He knew he'd be shut down straight away, or shouted at, or assaulted. He just couldn't be bothered to deal with her nagging. But at the same time, he did kind of like listening to her incessant whining. "That's probably true." Faust looked into Verona's eyes, which were fluttering back and forth now. Was she nervous? How could she be? A minute ago she was biting his head off.

Verona had put the Pokeball back in her pocket. She had now pulled out a book from her small purple leather handbag, which said: 'Panic Attacks and 5 ways to deal with them' right on the front. Very subtle.

"I've heard there are a large variety of breathing tricks to help you stop these attacks from coming…" Verona coughed, trying to make things less awkward. Faust was beginning to tune her out.

Oh, the drugs were really kicking in now. He felt so much more drowsier. But everything felt greater. Faust felt amazing, but woozy.

"You know." Faust interrupted her. His voice had increased in volume, being a lot louder. "It isn't easy to snap out of those attacks. I've tried your stupid breathing methods and herbal medicines. But guess what, darling, they don't...fucking...work!"

Faust had snapped. Verona didn't reply, instead she simply closed the book. "Well, excuse me for trying to help you."

"You don't need to! You don't know what's it like to go through an attack. So stop trying to act like you do!" Faust shouted. His words were becoming more slurred and further apart. He took bigger pauses between every sentence as well.

Verona put the book in her bag. Her nose was twitching violently, as if she had smelt something funny. "If that's what you think, then that's what you think. Next time, I won't bring you your drugs. I'll just let you suffer there. You'll be crying out for me, but I won't hear you. You'll be laying there on the floor, in agony. We can see how much you need my help then."

Faust took a few seconds to compute her words. Verona really couldn't be saying that, could she? She'd never leave him there to suffer. She loved him too much. Faust chuckled to himself. She'd do anything for him. "P-please don't leave me...please. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Verona let out a small giggle. Her giggle was very high pitched and made her seem younger than she was. She didn't seem 42...she looked beautiful. Though she had natural beauty, not cosmetic beauty, unlike the rest of the Capitol. Faust was only 30, but he looked older.

"Then you're going to have to deal with my suggestions." Verona giggled once more. "One threat and you're already begging for me to stay. In a moment, you'll start worshipping me. Will you build a shrine for me?"

Faust rolled his eyes. "If I may ask, why did you have another...panic attack." Verona whispered the last words.

"You probably know why...there are 2 reasons…" Faust began to explain. "Firstly...evolution. We still haven't cracked that and we only have 4 months left to. Evolution is meant to be one of the most vital parts of the Pokemon! And we still haven't figured it out!"

"Oh…" Verona said. Verona wasn't a mutt designer, instead she focused on the arena itself. But she heard of horrible things happening when the Pokemon evolved. She was so curious to see what would happen though…

"I'm so...just so...stressed over it! That isn't...that isn't like me! I would have never stressed over something so insignificant. But Astoria has to set stupidly tight time restraints, which gives me no time to take a break. God, I hate that...that...bitch sometimes." Faust unloaded his pent up feelings. Faust wiped his eyes, determined not to show any emotions of sadness in front of Verona. He didn't want to appear weak. God damnit, he wasn't weak.

Verona nodded. She rummaged through her bag once more, before pulling out a pack of chocolate biscuits. "Want one?" She opened the packet and held it out to him.

"Huh?"

"Do you want a cookie?" Verona asked.

Faust took it, before biting into it. His mouth watered slightly. They were still warm, somehow. "Oh, I haven't eaten all day. These are lovely."

Verona nodded, as she nibbled out of her. "I agree. But less not get too off track. I get where you're coming from. President Cassis is wanting more and more from us in a shorter amount of time."

Faust nodded, a small tear falling from his eye. "Do you know why?"

Verona knew why, but shook her head anyway.

"She's trying to cancel the Games. Every year, she'll shorten the time we're given to prepare the arena. Eventually, it'll be so short, we'll just...snap. The games will be terrible. The arena will terrible. Everything will be terrible. She'll try and cancel it, and people won't complain." Faust rambled on. Verona listened, deciding not to talk. It was the truth.

"Every Gamemaker has been suffering." Verona replied.

"Suffering? I don't know if I'd call it...suffering?" Faust muttered, his voice was so slurred it was hard to understand. He fiddled with his hands, grabbing at the sleeves of his shirt.

"What would you call it then?"

Faust was really unsure. But he knew it wasn't suffering. The people who were suffering were the tributes, or the family of the tributes, or the poor District people. Sure, the Gamemakers might be stressed, or worried, or scared...but they weren't suffering that much.

What was going on? He never felt sorry for the tributes. He barely ever thought about them. But those drugs did something to his mind. They tampered with his brain, making him feel emotions he had never felt before.

"Just ignore me. I don't know what I'm going on about."

Verona made a little 'mmm' sound. "I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out. And if you don't, there'll always be another alternative."

"I-I just don't know what that alternative could be."

Verona didn't know either. It would have to postpone the games, or just scrap the evolution method entirely. "Well...what's the other thing that's worrying you?"

Faust tugged at his sleeves, feeling even more worried. In a garbled manner, he said: "Astoria has asked me about whether it would be possible to start handing out Pokémon to the citizens of the Capitol…"

Verona gasped. She clapped her hands over her mouth, shocked at the possibility of what Astoria could be doing. "She can't do that!"

"That's what I said to her. But she's too stubborn to listen to anyone but herself." Faust was tugging extremely hard at his sleeves now. He was trying to push down the sense of panic as much as he could, but it kept bubbling back up. He could feel the sweat dripping on his back, making it stick to the armchair behind him.

"B-but why? What's the gain from it?" Verona asked, befuddled by the woman they called president.

"She said that they could be 'useful'. They could really benefit society." Faust said, trying to wipe the sweat off, that was falling down his forehead. "But Pokémon...they aren't meant to be useful. Even if they look cute or friendly, they are dangerous. They are extremely dangerous. One wrong move and you could kill with them, or torture, or whatever other crime you can think off. It would be pure chaos and anarchy. We'd all be dead before we could do anything to stop it."

"No one would be safe. It would be like...like...allowing anyone to own a machine gun. We'd be receiving a deathwish." Verona said, her appetite fully gone. She quickly put the biscuits back in her bag.

Faust tried to level his breathing once more. "I just don't know what to say to her. How can I tell her that we can't do that? When I tried, she told me there must be a way to protect ourselves, or to stop the Pokemon if they go to far."

"Well...there is the…"

"The remote? Which we swore would never be used." Faust said, suddenly clutching the device in his pocket. It was a small remote that could blend in with any other ordinary remote. But if you put the code in it, it would send out a signal that would disrupt the Pokemon's brain and quickly and painlessly kill every single one of them. Faust only trusted himself with it. But he never wanted to put that code in. Even if they could be harnessed and used as monsters, they were his creations. They were his children. He had spent too much time and effort crafting and loving them to get rid of them.

"That YOU swore to never use. I'm sure another Gamemaker wouldn't mind killing those creatures." Verona told him the truth. She knew it would upset him, but he needed to know it. He could clutch onto that remote for however how long he'd want to, but not everyone would feel the same way as him. Someone would be willing to get rid of them.

"That's why I should be the only one who knows the code." Faust said.

Verona tutted. "But you're not the only one. You need to realise that."

"I-I have realised that. That doesn't mean I have to accept it." Faust frowned.

"Then perhaps you should stop being so immature."

Faust did not reply back to her. He knew she was speaking the truth, but he didn't want to admit it. "Look...I just don't know what to do."

Verona was unsure as well. Cogs were whirring in her mind. She was trying to think of the best solution possible, but nothing was popping up. "We need to reaffirm Astoria that we cannot distribute Pokemon. And we have to make people want to watch Pokemon, but not obtain one…"

Faust listened. "So we have to make them...undesirable?"

Verona nodded. "Violent, vicious, cruel, ugly, merciless...we have to make them psychopathic monsters."

"But the entire point of Pokemon is that they're your friends! How can be your friends if they're trying to murder you all the time?" Faust fought back.

Verona's eyebrows furrowed. "Well...perhaps they can still be friends. But as soon as they step into the arena, we need to show their negative side. Perhaps we could drug the Pokemon to anger them, but inject a chip into their bodies that allows us to subdue and control them, so they don't attack the trainers. Once the battle is up...they can go back to being the friendly creatures we wished them to be."

Faust nodded along. It seemed like that would be the best possible solution that they had right now. Well, it was the only solution they currently had. "Even if I dislike it...it's the only thing we can do." Faust sighed sombrely.

Verona frowned at the prosperity as well. She clamped Faust's hands, holding it tightly to her chest. "We can do this. We can make it through this hell of an experience." She gave a warm smile to him. Faust's eyes drooped slightly. That smile...it just send fuzzy warm feelings down his spine. He felt like everything was better. As he thought about the future, it might not be so bleak and horrible. It might work itself out. And all he needed was Verona by his side.

* * *

**Surprise! Sorry this took so long. I sort of went through a rough patch in life and I was incredibly busy, but this is out now! Perhaps I should have gave an update. Next time I will.**

**We've received over a third of the tributes, but we still need plenty more. If you've reserved a spot, I'll be sending messages out to see if you're still planning to submit. I'm not sure if you will, because it's been over a month. But thank you anyway to everybody who has submitted, is thinking of submitting or has reserved a tribute! **


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